Ominous signs to slow down

The latest discovery in the MRT story is rail crack. Monday morning peak hour, crack was found on the North South Line causing massive jams and delays to the train service. Subsequently the speed of all trains was slowdown as a precaution. MRT quoted an incident in England that resulted in several deaths due to rail cracks.

The main cause of rail cracks is metal fatigue contributed by a combination of temperature, age and uneven wheel.  Are these the signs of an ageing system that needs either a complete overhaul, a complete change or just simply to slow down, and things will be ok again? Or we really need a change, a new system to replace the ageing system that is getting sicker by the day and there is no other option left?

Monday’s morning the East West trains were also travelling at much slower speed. Would this be the new beginning, a new trend of travelling in our MRT system, our not so rapid transport system?

Looking at the bigger picture, our rapidly maturing economy may also need to slow down to avoid overheating and heart burns. Everything is running at full steam for so long and maximized to yield results but getting marginal or diminishing returns. Even our workers, those past expiry date types, are still recycled into the job market to keep the economy going. The Dad’s Army is still kicking in the food courts and hawker centres.

And strangely, the PMETs, some very much younger, have been pulled out of the system before their expiry dates. But this is a different story altogether. Maybe they should consider themselves lucky to be able to slow down and not be squeezed dry for another few more years. We need much younger and more talented workers to drive the economy faster than the lazy and not good enough PMETs, we need to bring them in to replace the locals for a more energized economy. No losers allowed.

Our cars are retired when many were still in peak conditions and could run for another ten years or more. Our housing is being pulled down only to rebuild with more levels to increase the yield. Our land are harvested to the fullest, every inch must be made useful. We are running out of training grounds for NSmen and soon there will be no land for military camps.

We need to slow down. The symptoms being thrown out daily by the MRT are ominous signs that we cannot go at the same speed anymore or we risk more breakdowns and accidents. Heed the warning signs and avoid going over the cliff. There is no remedy to ageing.